Practice device for golf putting



Aug. 28, 1945. H. A. KLING PRACTICE DEVICE FOR GOLF PUTTING Filed Nov.17, 1943 zsneets-sheet 1 I flw- I Aug. 28, 1945. H. A. KLING PRACTICEDEVICE FOR GOLF PUTTING Filed Nov. 17, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedAug. 28, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,383,866 I I PRACTICEDEVICEFOR'GOLF PUTTING Harold A. Kling, New Haven, Conn.

Application November 17, 1943, Serial'No. 510,631 1 Claim. (Cl. 273' 35)This invention relate to game apparatus in the nature of practicedevices for golf putting, and more particularly to an apparatus forindoor use intended to'improve a persons skill in putting to a markeddegree.

The game apparatus used in the past, for putting practice indoors, hasbeen open to a number of objections. Previously, the conditions ofplaying on the outdoor green were not sufficiently approached to be ofreal value. Another objection was that the golf balls being used inrepeated putts were not undersufficient control and became dispersedover the room so that their collection by the'player was veryinconvenient. These are some of the objections which the presentinvention is intended to obviate. I

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus inwhich the ball, after being struck by the club, moves over a planarsurface throughout its course, it being necessary, in order to reach thetarget and obtain a hit or point, for the ball to pass over or through apredetermined space of a Width which usually is about the same as theinside diameter of the usual golf cup used on the outdoor green.

It is also an object to provide an apparatus such that there is acontrol in the nature of a collection of the balls which reach thetarget, and a similar control for those which miss the target, in orderthat, after the completion of a series of strokes, the picking up of theballs for the continuation or renewal of the game is facili tated.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel featuresand combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and finallypointed out in the claims. 1

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a game apparatus embodying myimprovements, showing the same disposed for example on the carpetedfloor of a room;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the floor, and the floor covering, insection;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the apparatus, the casing being partiallybroken away; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the blank used in making the casing which, inthis particular instance, is of cardboard.

The particular apparatus selected for illustration is of a type adaptedfor use on a carpeted floor or a floor having a fairly large rug, Wherethe person desiring to improve his putting game may propel the ball overthe fabric surface a discarpet, this casing having, in its front wall,an

opening of a width approximating that of the internal diameter of theordinary golf cup. The opening-presenting portion of the casing providesthe target over or through which the ball on the floor can roll, and, ifthe ball passes through the opening in the casing, the stroke isregarded as successful, Whereas, if the ball fails to enter the casingthrough the opening, it is a miss. The balls sent by successful shotsare, of course, collected in the casing where they are readilyaccessible by lifting the casing from. the floor. For the purpose ofexercising a control in the nature of a collection upon the balls whichmiss, a structure is associated with the target portion of the apparatusat the respective sides thereof which is intended to deflect the ballswhich miss the target and, by causing their impingement' againstsuitable surfaces, to bring about a sort of retrieving action whereby,after the series of'balls has been shot, those which have missedthetarget will be found in and can be picked up from a space havingconvenient proximity to the target.

In the drawings, the casing 6 used in this particular example is made ofcardboard and presents. a rectangular, boxlike structure, preferablyofgreater depth than width, this structure being'open at'the bottom sothat the lower edges 1 of its upright walls rest upon the carpet 8,which lies upon the floor 9.

In this example, the front wall It] of the casing has a specialformation in that it includes a middle portion H disposed at rightangles to the longitudinal axi of the casing, and two sloping sideportions I2 and I3, respectively. This front wall I0 is cut away at M toprovide the target opening or port through which the golf ball can roll,the opening preferably being of a width at least approximating that ofthe internal v diameter of the ordinary golf cup. It will be understoodthat the target opening is defined at the bottom by the carpet and alongthe sides and top by portions of the wall In, and in the particularexample shown the side edges M of this opening are in line with thejoints or angles between the sloping portions l2, l3, and the ortion II.It is understood, of course, that the opening in the casing is ofnotchlike formation the opening'and will be a miss.

and of slightly greater height than the ordinary golf ball. For thepurpose of facilitating aiming at the target, there may be, for example,a slight downward projection, indicated at IS, in the nature of apointer providedcentrally of the opening I4 at its upper edge.

As an aid in retrieving the misses, the sloping surfaces l2, l3 areprovided, and, in the example selected for illustration, each of thesecooperates with an external barrier which projects from the casing andagainst which the ball may impinge. The barriers are indicated at l6 andI1, respectively, and each consists of alight strip of wood, forexample, conveniently attached at one end to the casing, projecting fromthe side of the casing at an appropriate angle for the convenientretrieval of the balls. Adjacent their forward ends, each of the stripsl6, l1 carries a downward and slightly slanting anchoring projection inthe nature of a pin or stud l8 adapt ed to engage the floor covering soas to position the strip at the desired angle. The rear end of the.strip is usually. attached to the casing in a detachable manner as bybeing extended into and-'frictionally engaging a slitted portion l9provided in the side of the casing.

In Fig. is shown a suitable blank such as may be employed in theconstruction of a cardboardcasing of the kind herein illustrated.

The .mannerof using the apparatus will be more or less obvious from theforegoing description. It will be seen that'there is provided, sub

stantially normally to the course of the ball roll ing over the floor orother surface, a generally upright wall having a target opening of notchformation having a width approximating that of the ordinary golf cup oran identical width, said opening being open at the bottom but closed byjuxtaposition against the floor or like surface. This provides a verysatisfactory target in a device for the practice of putting, Askillfully shot ball will pass through the openingwith clearance on theopposite sides. A less skillfully shot ball may graze one side edge ofthe opening but still go into the casing. Where the-ball makessufilcient impingement against the side edge of the opening, it will bedeflected laterally away from The deflecting walls l2 and [3 should bearranged at an angle which is between 15 and to the plane of the targetopening and, preferably, this angle will be about 23as intheexampleshown. With such an angle; the ball, if it strikes fairly aside edge of the target opening, is not so effectively resisted as tocause the ball to bounce back; on the other hand, the sloping wall,owing to its angle and to its slight support atthe bottom and totheflgive of the material of which it is made, is permitted to yieldslightl and thereby facili- I tate the deflection of the ball toone-side, so that,

if it does not go through the opening, it will be deflected in such amanner that it willstrike the barrier on the corresponding side of theopening. If the ball strikes one of the sloping walls with a fair amountof force, it will be deflected so as lightly to hit the correspondingbarrier by caroming, and it usually travels forwardly from the barrierto a slight extent before coming to rest, as in the case of two of theballs shown in Fig. 4.

In playing .on the golf green, the point of most difficulty with whichthe player is presented is the direction of the course of the ball bythe golf club or putter at such angle to the green as a whole that theball will travel in a line intersecting the cup. By the presentinvention, an

' apparatus is provided wherebyvery eifective and valuable practice inwhat may be termed angular direction of the ball can be obtained.Moreover, it is yer: easy to obtain space for setting up the apparatus;it can be readily set up; and, in setting it up, no damage is done tothe furnishings of the room. When the device is not in use, the casingcan be turned over and. employed as a receptacle for the balls and thedetachable barriers.

The casing may be made of other material than cardboard, if desired, andit will be understood that various arrangements of the barriers andotherrfeatures shown may be adopted. In certain phases of the invention,the character of the target presented to the player is the principalconsideration as has been brought out-above, and in other phases theretrieval of the balls is an important consideration as appears from theforegoing description. While the device is particularly intended for useindoors it may also be employed outdoors, where it may be used on asmooth lawn, clay surface or other surface in an appropriate place,obviating the need of installing a golf cup. In the claims, the termfloor is employed in a general sense. Various changes in the details ofthe structure can be made without departing from the principles of theinvention and the scope of the claims.

What I claim is: Apparatus for use in practicing golf putting,comprising an upright target member cut away at the middle front portionto provide an opening defined at its lower part bya floor against whichthe member is placed, through which opening a ball rolling on the floorcan roll without obstruction, said target member having immediate- .lyadjacent the respective sides of said opening slanting deflectingsurfaces, and also having walls leading forwardly from the outer sidemargins of said deflecting surfaces, andprojecting lateral barriersadapted to be impinged by the balls striking the deflecting surfaces,said barriers being joined to said forwardly extending walls andcreating side pockets adjacent said walls.

, HAROLD A. KLING.

